With all other entrants finished on the latest leg of the Around Alone Race, Bermudian Alan Paris and BTC Velocity are playing catch-up.

Paris had to make an unscheduled stop in Tasmania after suffering damage to his mast.

He was en route to New Zealand at the end of the third leg of the around the world race when he ran into trouble.

"Exactly 52 hours and 40 minutes from the moment that the wire supporting my mast broke, BTC Velocity was back sailing," he said. "It was a whirlwind two days with many emotions tied in.

"I really thought there was an outside chance that I could get within striking distance of my fellow competitors, but this event ended that hope.

"It also, and most importantly, means two days less with my wife Becky and son Tucker. We have had so little time together since the race started. When a wire or stay breaks on a mast there is a good chance that within seconds the mast will crack and come tumbling down.

"This event would have made my continued participation in the Around Alone questionable but with a little luck and some quick thinking the mast was saved.

"Amazingly enough in 1995 when sailing my J105 solo from Antigua to St. Augustine, Florida the exact same breakage occurred. I was 200 nautical miles from land that time and still had the Gulf Stream to cross - perhaps it was training for the Around Alone!"

Paris made a visit to Australia while the repairs were carried out.

"The trip to Melbourne was quick and simple with the only complication being a delayed return flight due to the brush fires that were on the outskirts of Melbourne," he said. "You could smell the smoke in the plane at 3,000 feet."